WHEN MARY WAS WORSHIPPED AS GOD

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WHEN MARY WAS WORSHIPPED AS GOD

 

(CONNECTIONS WITH VISHNU AND KRISHNA)

 

WWW.WOMANTHOUARTGOD.COM

 

BY BROTHER MARKUS

 

EDITED/REWRITTEN BY RASA VON WERDER

 

 

 

THE TRADITION OF MARY,

THE GREAT GODDESS

 

 

 

From the Second Century there are reports about a movement named

Collyridians, whose members worshipped Mother Mary as Goddess. The

name Collyridians comes from the practice of offering cakes, a ritual

that was reported in Jeremiah for the Jewish worship of the Queen of

Heaven. Although evidence of this original movement is lost, the next

appearance of these people is called " Philomarianites, " (lovers of

Mary) mentioned repeatedly over centuries by the Catholic Church. This

worship of Mary as Goddess was condemned and such tendencies were

looked upon as errors of theology.

 

 

 

In this thesis I shall prove that there have been genuine traditions

in which Mary was looked upon and worshipped as the Supreme Being, the

Great Goddess. I am using the name Philomarianites for them. The

Philomarianites operated as secretly as necessary and as openly as

possible. Due to the latter fact, it is possible to find its traces up

to this day. I hope that by revealing this Marian worship it will be

understood that Christianity has its own Goddess tradition similar to

that enjoyed by Hindus.

 

 

 

None of my sources are canonical, (as are the scriptures of the

Bible,) nor from the texts of the Church Fathers. I am presenting this

from other Christian sources. (Limiting the Christian traditions to

the Bible only would be historically ignorant, as many of our

spiritual roots come from elsewhere. In this connection it is

interesting to know that Martin Luther, one of the proponents of the

Bible-only tradition changed the Bible himself. He removed a few books

out of the canon - for example the Maccabaeans, (because he didn´t

like the fact that this connected the Roman Empire with Israel. It did

not fit into his anti-Roman sensibilities).

 

 

 

Jesus himself did not write a book, nor tell anyone to do so. But

there have been others over the centuries who were lead to write down

their experiences and knowledge of the Divine. It is time to overcome

the belief that the texts of the Bible are more sacred and reliable

than any other sources. I am including art as a valid medium,

especially in light of the fact that ancient people were largely

illiterate and used art to better their understanding.

 

 

 

 

 

GODDESS MARY IN LEGENDS & MIRACLE STORIES

 

 

Religious legends, told and retold, have been a major source of

spiritual information for the majority of people through the ages.

This is true for all religions. Differences can be found mainly in the

way religious officials dealt with them. The highest rank legends are

enjoyed in Hinduism, where they are collected in numerous puranas and

are frequent in the Hindu Scriptures. In the Christian tradition

legends are no longer easily found. Even the most famous collection

" legende aureae " which once was a standard book is nowadays known only

to persons with a special interest. What to say of the less official

legends, that were told among the common folks. Although a lot of this

material has been lost forever, there are some collections extant.

From these I have chosen my examples to show how Mary is being

described as a Sovereign Goddess.

 

 

 

 

 

THE LEGEND OF THE PRIEST

WHO ONLY READS MASS FOR MARY

 

 

 

I came across two versions of this legend, one very short, the other

more elaborate. But the story is the same:

 

 

There was a priest, not very learned, but a great devotee of Mother

Mary. Therefore each day he said Mass for Mary. This was reported to

the bishop, who became angry; since an exclusive worship of Mother

Mary was verboten. He removed the priest from his privileges and

income. In the night the Queen of Heaven appeared before the bishop,

asking him why he had done this to her devotee. (In one version she is

even threatening the bishop with the loss of his title and life.) The

bishop repented, reinstated the priest and himself became a devotee of

Mary.

 

 

Exclusive worship of Mother Mary had always been rejected by the

Catholic Church. (At that time the only official Church in western and

central Europe). Therefore the bishop of the legend did his duty by

punishing the priest and removing him from the service of the Church .

The Queen of Heaven on the other side did not care for the Church

dogma, but stood by her devotee and made sure that he was reinstated.

 

 

The message of this legend is clear:

 

 

 

1. The Queen of Heaven is more powerful than the Church.

 

 

2. Mother Mary takes care of her devotees.

 

 

3. Exclusive worship of the Divine Mother is beneficial.

 

 

4. A warning to the opponents of Mary worship - they might get in

trouble if they are harassing her devotees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this legend Mary is acting as a Sovereign Goddess, taking care of

her devotee and approving worship of her. To the listener it becomes

obvious that the humblest devotee of Mary is of a higher rank than a

bishop holding the top position in Church hierarchy. In this way

Mother Mary is declared Supreme Goddess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LEGEND OF SINNERS & CRIMINALS SAVED BY MARY

 

 

 

The rule of the Church over the people was mainly based on fear. It

was very easy to " go to hell " . Not only criminal acts but sex,

overeating, and many other items were called " mortal " sins. The

slightest deviation from the Church teachings made one " anathema " . One

had to confess, do penance, and obey the Church totally, or they were

" doomed. " But there was Mother Mary, not caring about the Church´s

conditions for salvation. She was the " Refuge of Sinners. " Even the

worst criminals were saved because of devotion to her. Since there are

a number of legends on this topic I am citing only one completely,

giving snippets of the others.

 

 

There was once a robber, who in spite of his evil, was a Marian

devotee. Once he was caught in the act and sentenced to death by

hanging. A gallows was erected, the rope tied around his neck, and the

ladder taken away. It seemed his life was over. But Mary the Merciful

worked her power. It should be known that everyone should love and

worship her. She lifted the robber, holding him aloft, so that the

rope could not strangle him. After three days, the people who had

hanged the robber returned. They saw the unbelievable - the criminal

had not died but was alive and spoke, as if he was quite comfortable

up there at the gallows. One of them cut the rope and the " hanged man "

stood before them, as one who had not been harmed. They asked him to

tell them how he survived. He said,

 

 

 

" I will tell you where my help came from. When the ladder was pulled

away and I thought I would die, I saw the most beautiful woman eye has

beheld. She took care of me. She lifted me and held me with her

strength, so that the rope could not cut my throat. Time stood still,

in the ecstasy I felt with Our Lady. She said to me, " Just see how you

are being rewarded for your great devotion to me. I am standing by

you. Because you have chanted the Ave Maria to me so often, you are

receiving its fruit on this gallows. "

 

 

When the people heard that Mary had effected this miracle, they were

in awe and had him released. His devotion became more fervent, his Ave

Marias to Mother Mary, on his knees, became more frequent.

 

 

 

In this way Our Lady helps all who love her. Praise to the Queen of

Heaven!

 

 

 

In this legend a robber is saved from death by Mother Mary, thanks to

his great devotion for her. The message of the legend is:

 

 

If Mary will save a robber, then what has an ordinary devotee to be

afraid of? In this legend especially the chanting of Ave Maria is

stressed. This brings to mind the power of destroying bad karma that

is attributed to mantras in the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Often

these mantras include the names of goddesses and gods. It might be

interesting in this regard, that the most powerful mantra in the

tantric tradition " hrim " includes elements of the blessed name

" Maria " . No wonder that there is a legend of Mary that is also in the

Bhagavat purana of Vishnu-Hinduism:

 

 

A monk (a Brahmana) is falling off the path of piety and is living an

evil life. But he is still worshipping Mary (chanting the name of

Vishnu). Eventually he dies and the devils (the servants of the lord

of the underworld) are appearing to take him to his fate. Than angels

and Mother Mary (the servants of Vishnu) are coming and demanding this

soul. There is a discussion between the two opposing parties and it

becomes apparent that the worship of Mary (the chanting of the name of

Vishnu) has outbalanced the evil deeds. Finally the monk (Brahmana) is

given another span to his lifetime. He is henceforth living the good

life, entering the sphere of Our Lady (Vishnu) at the time of his

final death.

 

 

There are other legends, too, dealing with the subject of Mary saving

sinners and criminals - because they showed some devotion to her. Some

describe how the pious deeds and the sins are being weighed against

each other and how Mary is manipulating the pair of scales in favor of

her devotees. In this way she manifests her superiority to the laws of

karma, being the law- giving Goddess herself.

 

 

 

 

GODDESS MARY IN ART

 

 

During the greater part of Christian history the majority of people

were illiterate. Therefore, besides legends and prayers learned by

heart, art was of major importance to communicate religious ideas.

There are several examples how pictures have been used by

Philomarianites to express and propagate their belief in the Supreme

Goddess Mary.

 

 

 

 

 

THE BURNING THORNBUSH

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Aix-on-Provence in southern France is such an example. The painting

by the artist Nicolas Froment is dated back to the year 1476. It

depicts one of the most important scenes of Judeo-Christian history:

The call of Moses. The Bible describes, how Moses had a vision of God

speaking to him from a thorn bush that was burning without being

burned. This is a crucial point in history. By accepting the order

given by God at that time, Moses started the Mosaian tradition, that

later became the Judeo-Christian. The Bible does not tell more about

the Godhead speaking from the thorn bush. Our artist did so, by

placing Mother Mary in that thorn bush. She, the picture is saying for

centuries, is truly the Godhead in Whom Christianity had its origin.

Not only that, she gave birth to Jesus, but she also called Moses to

become the founder of Judaism. In the Russian tradition exists a

Mandala-like icon with Mother Mary in the centre that is named, " the

ever burning thorn bush. "

 

 

 

 

THE CHOIR OF THE ANGELS

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dutch painter Glergten tot Sint Jans (1460/65 – 1495) created the

picture " Glorification of Mary " , now in Den Haag in the Netherlands.

 

 

The artist is using a different theme to present Mary as the Supreme

Being. In Christian mythology, the angels are grouped in nine choirs.

They are again classified in three triads of three choirs each. It is

imagined that the angels are circling around the Godhead like the

planets around the sun. The differences between the three triads of

angels is the distance between them and the Godhead. The inner triad,

being the closer to the Supreme, is of a very high frequency, having

no contact to matter whatsoever. The medium triad, having a greater

distance to the divine centre, is in contact with matter on a subtle

level. The outer triad finally is directly in contact with the

material world, but still circling around the Supreme. The artist

beautifully puts the three triads into a picture: The inner triad with

bodies shining as if they were made from pure light, the medium triad,

still shining, but with more concrete forms, and finally the outer

triad in a dark surrounding, using musical instruments to praise the

Godhead. So far, the painting is completely in accordance to orthodox

Christian ideas. What makes it so amazing is that she is given the

place of the Supreme - Mother Mary is God! Around her the angelic

triads are circling. The message is obvious to the pious onlookers.

 

 

 

 

MARY OF THE MANTLE OF PROTECTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mantle of protection is one of the most popular themes in

Christian Goddess art. It has its forerunners in the

Roman/Teutonic/Celtic cult of the three " matrones " , three Mother

Goddesses, who had been depicted giving protection to women and

children under their mantle.

 

 

In the 14th century the picture of Mary with the mantle of protection

became very popular. Under her mantle there is complete equality. The

Pope, the Emperor, queens and bishops are kneeling side by side with

the common folks. Salvation is granted to all that are assembled under

her mantle. In a popular song to Mary it says:

 

 

 

" Dein Mantel ist sehr weit und breit. Er deckt die ganze Christenheit.

Er deckt die weite, weite Welt, ist aller Zuflucht und Gezelt. "

 

 

 

(Your mantle is very wide and broad. It covers all of Christendom. It

covers the wide, wide world, it is everyone´s refuge and protection.)

Mary is described in this song as a universal Goddess, not only taking

care of Christianity, but of everyone on the whole earth.

 

 

 

There are some images, showing God the Father attacking people with

arrows, but Mary is giving them shelter under her mantle, preventing

harm. Here she is proving her superiority over Father God.

 

 

The same idea is depicted in a legend from the Krishnamyth of India:

" One day little Krishna sees how the adults are making big

preparations. He is told that a great sacrifice is being arranged for

Indra (the indian equivalent to the Roman Jupiter or Greek Zeus).

Krishna objects,

 

 

 

" Why should Indra be worshipped? It would be much more appropriate to

worship the Goddess manifested as the Govardhana hill. The Govardhana

hill supplies the village with all its needs. Springs with fresh water

are running down the hill, nurturing pasture grounds for the cattle,

trees with delicious fruits, healing herbs, etc. "

 

 

 

Krishna convinces the adults to dedicate the offering meant for Indra

to the Hill Goddess. Indra becomes angry and attacks the village with

thunderbolts and heavy rains. But miraculously the Govardhana hill is

lifted from the ground and thus creates a giant shelter for the

village people and their animals. They are overjoyed. This legend uses

the same metaphor as the above described Philomarianite picture. The

Patriarchal Godfather is humbled and the superiority of the Goddess is

established. The difference in the nature of the Goddess and the

Patriarchal God is well illustrated in this story:

 

 

 

On the one side the nurturing and protecting Mother, on the other side

an angry and revengeful Warrior God.

 

 

The council of Trent (1545-1563) banned the " protection mantle "

pictures, because they are giving Mary a God-like status. The council

members were quite aware of the Philomarianite traditions but

condemned them. Fortunately many pictures survived the ban. I know at

least four Protection-Mantle-Madonnas, that were created in the 20th

century and they are all from the southern Black Forest area in

Germany. Certainly there are many more in other places. The fact that

there are pictures depicting Mother Mary as Supreme Goddess is an

obvious proof that there was a tradition that worshipped the one

depicted in those pictures.

 

 

Mary in art is a broad horizon, where more will be discovered. I

presented only a small niche to support my thesis: There is an old

tradition, worshipping Mother Mary as the Supreme Goddess, Mary as God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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